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The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them. Dan/Panther

"Finds of the Month" are items that you acquired this month that you are particulatly excited about either because of its rarity, the difficulty you had in trying to find one for your collection or the exceptional "deal" you got on it etc.

Okay, here is my Newbie submission. My wife is an avid FreeCycle and CraigsList (free items) "shopper". She doesn't always tell me when she spots something she simply can't live without, I suppose to avoid my usual, "What are we going to do with THAT." response. Anyway, she saw an ad saying, "Moving out, everything's up for grabs, for free." and off she went. She was late to the party but she did learn that the original owner of the home, an avid phone collector, had died and he estate was cleaning things out. In the garage she spotted a cool looking old phone and she snatched it up - ignoring, unfortunately, the many more phones also in there that she could have had.

We are now the proud owners of this AE34 in original used condition and in need of only a little cleaning, a bit of polishing, a smidgen of repair to a very small chip on the lip of the mouthpiece, and a proper handset cord. All in due time. This phone is fully functional and after only a little air to blow out the spider webs, gluing the inside fabric screens back in, cleaning and lubing the governor, and putting on a modular plug - I dialed my father-in-law (an 84 year old retired Ma Bell installer) and we talked on this lovely machine as I told him all about it. The sound is very nice and the ring is absolutely a pleasure to listen to. The hefty handset is the source of new-found arm-strength as well.

Looks like that's it for "Finds of the Month" for March 2012. Only four contestants this month though I'm pretty sure there were more "Finds" out there than these four.

Time to vote and remember to report in here with your "Finds of the Month". You too could win a TRUNK LOAD of CRPF Dollars to do with as you please. Just don't get arrested trying to pass them off as real currency or as something worth anything at all for that matter....